Disability rights activists say that people with disabilities are facing difficulties in travelling from one place to another because there are no special services.
“I fell into the water while going from Sittwe to another town by boat. Among the transport services, the water transportation is in bad condition. There are absolutely no rights for the disabled,” said U Myat Thu Win, chairman of the Shwe Min Thar Foundation (Myanmar).
People with disabilities say they face various obstacles in everyday life.
“People with disabilities face difficulties in using the toilet, getting on and off the vehicle, especially when travelling by water,” said U Zaw Min Than, joint secretary of the Arakan State Disabilities Organization.
There are six types of disabilities namely, physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types of chronic disease.
“People with disabilities want to have equal rights like everyone else. Compared to normal people, people with disabilities face many difficulties. That is why it is necessary to recognise people with disabilities,” said a disabled woman in Minbya Township.
“We do not provide special services for people with disabilities, and we do not have designated seats. However, we have staff members who help people with disabilities get on and off the ferryboats,” said U San Maw Thein, manager of the Shwe Pyi Tan express boat line.
Under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Law, people with disabilities are entitled to the same rights as everyone else politically and economically, as well as in education, public affairs and various other aspects of life. Despite these statutory guarantees, many people with disabilities remain deprived of their rights under the law, civil society organisations have pointed out.
“Successive governments have done very little about people with disabilities and have had no consideration for people with disabilities,” U Myat Thu Win said.
DMG attempted to contact Arakan State Transport Minister Colonel Thet Lwin and the Arakan State military council spokesperson U Hla Thein to find out if there is a plan to deal with the difficulties faced by people with disabilities, but they could not be reached.
Out of more than 51 million people in Myanmar, nearly 6 million are people with disabilities, according to 2019 figures from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population. Arakan State has more than 3 million people and over 500,000 people with disabilities, with the proportion of people with disabilities being the highest among the states and regions, according to the ministry’s 2019 inter-censal survey.
